City Council To Call For Hearings Before San Onofre Restart

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles City Council Friday was scheduled to vote on a resolution that would oppose any decision to restart a troubled nuclear power plant in northern San Diego County without taking adequate steps to guarantee public safety.

The plant located in San Clemente was shut down in January after new steam generators in Unit 2 that were installed only two years ago began to leak.

Southern California Edison, which owns the majority of the San Onofre station, has signaled its plans to restart Unit 2 at 70 percent capacity for five months to show the steam tubes are safe at reduced power.

During hearings in October in Dana Point, Edison senior vice president and chief nuclear officer Peter Dietrich said the utility considers plant safety its top priority.

“We’re in the business of safety, and ultimately providing safe, clean and reliable electricity, Dietrich said.

But L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz said his resolution would force regulators to apply more rigorous testing to the plant’s steam generators.

“The original steam generators were operated successfully at San Onofre for 20 years, and their replacements failed and were shut down in less than two years,” said Koretz.